Forbes' looked at earnings between June 2012 and June 2013, and E.L. ended up with a whopping $95 million. As they noted, “The e-book format was a key factor, giving readers an easy way to purchase the sex-filled sequels — and a discrete way to read them in public.” Why so shy? Obviously a lot of people are reading the Fifty Shades series, so go ahead and be open about it.